Improvement in machinery forx



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

sAML. E. HARTWELL, oF NEW Yonx, N. Y., AND-w EoWLEn ANn nn e.

Fownnn, BOTH on WATERBUEY, eoNNEcTIoUT.

Specification farming art-of Letters Patent No. 5.1 I0.I dated May S, 1F47.

ib all whom it may Ycan/cern, Be it known that we, SAMUEL E. HART- WELL, of the city, county, and State of New `York, and W.. M. FowLER and DE GRAssE FoWLER, both of Waterbury, :inA the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machinery for the. Manufacture of Cigars; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the principle or eharacterl'which distinguishesthem from all other things before known, and of the manner of making, constructing, and using the same, reference being had to the accompanying. drawings, making part of this speciiication, in Which- Figure 1 is a top plan of the machine; Fig. 2, an end elevation. Fig.' 3 is a vertical section through the line X X of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the-'line Y Y of Fig. 1.

The same letters indicate like-parts in all the figures. Y v Thenature of our invention consists inform-. ing the filling of cigars and coveringthem with a wrapper by machinery, by whichthe process is facilitated and great'erjperfection is attained in forming the cigar., while fine-eut or other tobacco can be used for the fillers without waste.

The machinery is constructed inthe following manner: On a table or frame, a a, of suitable form, two large horizontal pulleys, b b',

lare supported on the upper end of vertical.

shafts, lwhich have their bearings in the frame. below, one' being placed at each end of said frame. Two bands', c c', are pnt upon these pulleys b, one over the other. They are separated on the front side of the table by tw'o rollers, d d, placed at sufiic'ient distance from the pulleys on studs affixed to the frame. The

.outer belt, c, passes round outside these rollers, and is thus separated from the inner one, c', which is extended straight from one pulley to the other, forming a sufficient space .between them to receive the 'filling for the cigars to be made of. On the out-side of each band there is a straight piece, e e', that is attached to the table and extends the whole length of the space the bands are separated. -These are for the purpose of support to the bands. An-

other band, f, is made -to run on a level with the lower edge of the former ones, thus form# ing a sort o rga trough, into which the filling is put. Thislatter band is supported by the table, over which it passes and .around two .l

Near the end of lthe table opposite the gearing just above named there is aframe, k, erected, in which an oblong piece of wood, l, the

length of cigar to be'1nade,slidesup and down between the belts c c', beyond the lower belt, f, where a hole is cut throughthe table'for. the purposeof allowing the filler to descend into the apparatus where it is to be covered. The filler is cut off by a- V- shapedtool, m, te the right length for the cigarbefore it is borne" down, the angular eut forming the taper at the ends. as the follower l. They are moved by the rotation of a shaft, o1, supported in the'frame above, having arms projecting therefrom, which are connected with the slides by pitmen. The cutter is made to precede the fellower in its downward motion, and does not descend s far. A. belt or apron, o, isattached to the per nanent frame by one end j ust behindv the follower l. It is thence carried forward, and is attached at its other end to a roller, p, (around which it is wound with one or two turns,) located in a portion ofthe frame that projects forward at this point, as is clearly shown in the plan, Fig. .1. This' part of the apparatus .is the most important improvement in the machine.

' The middle of the belt or apron is made of any 'suitable smooth pliable substance, as shown at a2, Fig. 5, and the two edges b are composed of an elastic medium-such as shirred india-rubber goods or otherl similar article-which is stretched straight when fastv ened tothe center piece, and can contract, as hereinafter described. To keep the belt or apron wound onto the roller p with slicient tension, there is a pulley, q, on the shaft of .the roller, tp which a cord is fastened, that passes over another roller, q, and thence to a The cutter slides inthe same frame y weight, rj", su'l'icieiitly'hcavy for the required tension. Another cord passes round the pulleys the reverse way, and thence to a treadle, lr, below, so that when the treadle is borne down the apron is slacked up. This treadle is connected by a rod, r', witlian ariii' on the shaft n, above named, which inoves the cutter and follower.

There is asliding table, s, under the apron, that extends from the roller p to the hole through the table above, so that when the follower is pressed down and the apron is slacked up by the descent of the treadle, the filler is forced down into the big-ht ofv the slacked apron below the edge of the sliding table s, where it is held till the table iiiovcs back into the position shown in Fig. 4, the end passing under the roller t', placed in front of another slide, t, to which it is attached, leaving space enough between said roller and the end of the slide t for the reception of the filler in the bight ofthe apron, which is clearly represented in said Fig. 4. The follower is iheii raised and the slide t drawn forward, rolling the filler round in the bight of the apron as it is drawn along. The wrapper is placed upon the apron in the proper position, and is thus wound around the filler. The edges of the apron, contracting, finish the ends, and when the roller passes over the end ofthe table the cigar is released. The movement of these slides is effected by attaching a strap, t2, to the rear end of the upper slide, t, and passes forward over a roller, .1?, affixed to the under side ofthe table, and thence back over another roller and down to a treadle, t, below, by which it is worked. By forcing down the treadle it is obvious the various motions above described will be inade. The upper slide has a bar, u, attached to its rear end, that extends ont toward the shaft of the pulley b, on which there is a crown ratchet-wheel, i. This bar has a fulcriiin at u, attached to the frame, and on the short arni a pawl is affixed, that plays into the teeth ofthe ratcliet-wheel By this arrangement it is obvious that as the slide t is drawn forward the pulleys I) b are turned a sul'licient distance to carry forward the filling under the follower to a proper .length for a This length is regulated by making the pawl adjustable.

The operation of this machine is as follows: The filling is put into the space between the belts e c and drawn forward under the follower to the proper lengt-li for a cigar.

The treadle i* is then borne down by the foot of the operatOr, which cuts Off the filler by means of the cutter m. It is then pressed down bythe follower iiito the biglit of the apron, as before described. The other treadleis then :made to descend, which gives motion to the two slides in the manner alreadyspecified, and the filler is rolled forward in the bight of the apron on the table s, a wrapperbei'ng first placed on the apron in front, whiclif,-by the action of the apron, is drawn into the bight and wound round the filler. The whole is theii `continued on to the end of the table, where the bight is relieved and the cigar thrown out.

It is obvious that if the cigaris to be of any other form than cylindrical 'the form of the roller t and the table s should be made to correspond with its outline. A roller of this de. scription is shown in the diagram, Fig. 4. The knife that cuts o the filler may also bel of any Aangle or straight, tosuit the work tov be done. lt is obvious that the apron can he drawn through a stationary recess, instead ot holding lits end permanent and moving the slides. Other modes of feeding in the iiller can be employed, some of which we have essayed, but deem the manner niore particularly described as perfect as any.

Having thus fully described our improve.-

meiits, what we claim as our invention, and

desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The employment of a iilexible apron, substantially in the manner described, for ro1l ing the fillers of cigars into form .and covering them with the wrapper, as herein set forth.

2. Igorniing the edges of said belt of elastic material for shaping'` the taper at the ends of cigars. U

3. The employment of the roller and weight with the apron for maintaining the tension of ,the apron and determining the pressure upon,

the cigar. u

4. In' combination with the above, the inev-l able trough formed of a series of belts, for receiving the filling and carryingit forward, as

above specified, and the cutterand follower for cutting off the cigar and carrying it into the bight of the apron, as herein described.

SAMUEL E. HARTWELL'. WM. M. FOWLER. DE GRASSE FOWLER.

Witnesses:

BURE PERKINS, JOHN W. WEBSTER. 

